


Plant a seed and watch it grow

by iwriteinpen



Series: A Little Magic This Way Comes [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Alternate Universe - Magic, Fantasy, Fluff, M/M, Magical Realism, Romance, Witch Yamaguchi Tadashi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:14:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24964318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iwriteinpen/pseuds/iwriteinpen
Summary: Tsukishima is writing about local magic and myths when he meets Yamaguchi, owner of a small plant shop. Here he learns of the legend of the Dryadali Maestitia, a blue flower so rare no one is certain it exists. Tsukishima starts looking for it, will he find it or will he find something else?
Relationships: Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Series: A Little Magic This Way Comes [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1532129
Kudos: 63





	Plant a seed and watch it grow

Tsukishima’s shoes click against the cobblestones of the town square. While he is new to town, he feels a sense of coming home. The storefronts all around him are different colours and styles. Some with large signs and some with smaller ones, swaying in the breeze.

His feet take him over the town square and he finds himself in front of a small plant shop. The storefront is almost entirely made of windows. The lines of wood holding the windows together painted a dark green to match the plants filling them. The plants yearning for the sunlight streaming in. The benches in front of the store are also full of plants, making it seem as if the plants are growing through the glass, past their confinement and out into the street to greet Tsukishima before he enters. Tsukishima pushes the door, also made of glass, open. The inside of the shop continues the wild greenery from outside, plants filling every wall, table, chair or bench in the room. The shopkeeper looks up from the plant he is currently repotting.

  
“Hello,” he wipes his hands on the small apron he is wearing, “what can I help you with?”

  
“Ahhh,” Tsukishima looks at him, “I was actually looking for a library?”

  
“Oh” The shopkeep winces “We don’t really have one of those, but Iwaizumi up at ‘Nekomagic’ might have some books you could use.”

  
“Okay,” Tsukishima says.

  
“It’s just up the road, you must have passed it on the way here. Why do you need it if you don’t mind me asking?” Yamaguchi adds.

  
“Thank you, I am a magical historian currently writing about unique small town magic,” Tsukishima answers.

  
“Oh cool, how long are you in town for?” The other man tilts his head slightly to the left when asking the question.

  
“I haven’t really decided yet,” Tsukishima shrugs.

  
“Well, I’m Yamaguchi Tadashi and if there’s anything I can help you with feel free to come by again,” Yamaguchi smiles.

  
“Tsukishima Kei, and thank you.” Tsukishima turns to leave. Something about the way the shopkeeper smiles makes him want to stay for just a little while longer. His hand hovers over the door handle for a few seconds, before pulling the door open. Yamaguchi tucks his hands in the pockets of the apron and watches Tsukishima leave in the direction of ‘Nekomagic’.

  
“Well, we’ll have to hope Kuroo isn’t in the shop,” Yamaguchi laughs to himself and a few of the plants nearest to him perk up. He goes back to the plant he was potting before.

*

The next time Tsukishima enters the plant shop he is carrying a large brown book.

Yamaguchi this time is fiddling with some succulents that won’t cooperate. He sighs before looking at them. “Come on guys, just work with me here,” but nothing happens.

“Fine,” Yamaguchi pushes the pots away, crosses his arms and finally looks up, “oh.”

Tsukishima has watched this unfold with a sly smile on his lips.

  
“Is this a bad time?” Tsukishima asks.

  
“No, they deserve a timeout.” Yamaguchi smiles, “what can I do for you today?”

  
“Iwaizumi gave me a book?” Tsukishima awkwardly holds up the book. “I thought you could maybe help me with something.”

  
“Sure,” Yamaguchi walks to the register, motions for Tsukishima to follow and he does.

Tsukishima puts the book down and flips to a specific page.

  
“This seems to be a plant that only grows in this city and I would like to know more about it.” Tsukishima points to the illustration on the page. On the page is a beautifully drawn flower, light blue tendrils curl around the dark centre of the plant. From the stem sprout several smaller flowers vaguely reminiscent of forget-me-nots. The light blue colour of the flower seems to be glowing on the page. The root system, however, is missing.

Underneath, in flowery calligraphy is written ‘Dryadalis Maestitia’.

  
Yamaguchi runs a finger lightly over the page. “Yeah, me too” he says softly.

  
“What do you mean, you too?” Tsukishima turns his attention from the page to Yamaguchi, “you’re supposed to be the plant expert.”

  
“Yeah, well it’s not really certain that this plant actually exists,” Yamaguchi says, fingers still on the page.

  
“But someone drew it?” Tsukishima moves closer, looking over Yamaguchi’s shoulder, down onto the page.

  
“Yeah, we have a story about it too.” Yamaguchi turns his face to look at Tsukishima “I can tell the story, but I don’t know how much it will help.” Yamaguchi lifts an eyebrow.

  
“Please tell me,” Tsukishima says. Yamaguchi pulls the two chairs he keeps behind the register closer to them, and gestures for Tsukishima to sit down.Yamaguchi starts talking, his voice taking on a different tone.

  
“Some time ago magic was still new to this place. The forest was home to magical creatures, some here to help the humans living where we do now. Others had darker intentions and some were simply here to live their lives as well. One of the creatures in the forest were the elves. The elves would dance and lure men into madness or death at night, however the elves were more like us humans than we thought. You see elves grow old and die, they have families and children, just like us. This much was known to the people of the village, and every so often a changeling would appear in a human family, not less loved. However the humans didn’t know if the elves’ hearts worked like theirs until one elf fell in love with a human, real and true love. They say they met each night at the edge of the forest, to talk. They say that the elven magic had no effect on the human, but the relationship was not easy. See, elves are dangerous. They can and will kill you, even by accident. So the elf wept, the elf wept for their lover and the danger they put the human in just by meeting them. The elf wept for the life the human could have had if they had never met them. The elf wept for the life they had not yet taken. The elf wept for the death of their lover although it had not yet happened. The elf wept under the moonlight and wherever these tears of true sorrow landed a flower sprouted. A flower born from true grief, experienced by a creature that never should have experienced such emotion. A flower born of the moonlight that makes up each elf. So the flower may calm you at first but too much may kill you”

  
Yamaguchi stops talking. Tsukishima blinks, slowly coming out of the near trance that Yamaguchi’s storytelling put him in.

  
“I’ve been wanting to see this flower ever since my mother first told me this story,” the dreamy tone has not left Yamaguchi’s voice completely.

  
“You never tried to find it?” Tsukishima asks.

  
“Of course I did,” Yamaguchi shrugs, “and I’m not the first one to wandered all over these woods just to find it.”

  
“Okay,” Tsukishima stands up, “I’ll be back tomorrow,” and heads out of the store.

  
“But-” Yamaguchi starts, “what?” He looks around the room, as if the plants could offer an explanation. None of them do.

  
On the other side of the door Tsukishima walks with long strides back to the shop he visited yesterday.

  
He opens the door to the sound of bells.

  
“I need your help again,” he says.

  
At first, no one responds.

  
“Hello?” Tsukishima steps forward into the shop, “you know if no one’s here, it’s really dumb to keep the door unlocked.” Tsukishima rolls his eyes.

  
“Who said no one’s here?”

  
Tsukishima whips around, coming face to face with a dark-haired man.

  
“Kuroo Tetsurou, at your service,” the man, Kuroo, walks around Tsukishima. Heading towards the register.

  
“What can I do for you today?” Kuroo puts on a smile. Tsukishima in response narrows his eyes.

  
“I need more info on the ‘Dryadalis Maestitia’” Tsukishima moves past his suspicions and asks what he came here for.

  
“Don’t we all?” Kuroo sighs, “we have one book, where one dude mentions seeing it once somewhere, no one knows where, but sure you can have it.” Kuroko's eyes bore into Tsukishima’s. Tsukishima’s shoulders lift and he clenches his jaw. “But why do you need it?” The teasing look is back in Kuroo's eyes.

  
“Why do you care?” Tsukishima crosses his arms.

  
“Humor me” The smirk on Kuroo’s face can only be described as that of a cat watching a mouse tiptoe around a mousetrap.

  
“IwanttofinditforYamaguchi,” Tsukishima rattles of his response at a breakneck  
pace.

  
“I’m sorry what?” Kuroo looks like someone who knows exactly what was said.  
“I want to find the flower for Yamaguchi.” Tsukishima enunciates each word carefully. Kuroo laughs.

  
“You know what? This is ridiculous, when is Iwaizumi back?” Tsukishima sighs and rolls his eyes pointedly at the other man.

  
“It’s just cute,” Kuroo shrugs “Yamaguchi would flip his shit if you actually manage to find it.” Kuroo chuckles slightly at the mental image he conjured.

  
“Can I borrow the book or not?” Tsukishima says.

  
“Sure,” Kuroo finds a book from under the table. “Iwaizumi already prepared for you to be back.”

  
“Tch,” Tsukishima doesn’t respond, just takes the book from the table and walks out. Leaving Kuroo chuckling at the register.

  
Tsukishima walks back to the small inn, where he is staying, a few hundred  
meters from the store. He sits by the desk with a small lamp illuminating the room and opens the newest book. Luckily for Tsukishima, Iwaizumi has already added little blue notes wherever the flower is mentioned, all of five times in a book of 500 pages.

He sighs and starts reading. Writing notes on the inn’s notepad, shaped like a sunflower and obnoxiously yellow, but all he has at the moment.

The moon shines in through the window, but soon the sky outside lightens and bird song streams into the room. Tsukishima removes his glasses and rubs the bridge of his nose. He looks at his watch, two to three hours of sleep are still possible. He looks at the three notes he has filled with his handwriting and then to the bed. He turns off the lamp and gets up from the chair. He sets an alarm on his phone and the second his head hits the pillow, he sleeps.

  
He wakes three hours later to the sound of his alarm. The moon has long since vanished and the birds have been awake for much longer than that. The notes from last night seem even more unreadable and the yellow more obnoxious under the sunlight. He glares at the book as he sits up in bed.

*

Down the street Yamaguchi has opened his store for the day, the plants in the windows taking in all of the sunlight they can.

  
Yamaguchi leans down to whisper to the potted plant on the in front of him. The plant is hanging a little bit, the petals drawn to the ground.

  
“Come on now,” he whispers with a smile. “I know you can do better than that.”

  
The plant perks up, one stubborn petal still duller than the rest.

  
“That’s better,” Yamaguchi brushes his finger over the last petal and it too perks up.  
He places the plant next to the others of its kind and moves on to other tasks all while talking to the plants.

  
“Do you think he really will come by again today?” He asks while tending to some sunflowers. They twist their “faces” as if to look at him. “I mean he said so, but he also stormed off without another word.” The plants do not react.

  
“Am I being silly?” Yamaguchi says.

  
“I don’t know if you’re talking to me but,” Tsukishima interrupts the moments between Yamaguchi and his plants. Tsukishima walks over next to Tadashi.

  
“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi jumps slightly, “I didn’t hear you come in.” The redness of Yamaguchi’s cheeks doesn’t go unnoticed by Tsukishima.

  
“Wait, Tsukki?” Tsukishima raises an eyebrow.

  
“Ah sorry, I won’t call you that again.” Yamaguchi looks down.

  
“No, you can,” Tsukishima says a soft smile on his lips.

  
“What can I help you with today?” Yamaguchi makes eye contact. Tsukishima leans against the table next to him.

  
“I just wanted to let you know that I will be going into the forest to find the plant today,” Tsukishima states.

Yamaguchi eyes widen. “You really think you can find it?”

  
“I do.” The words seem much bigger as they leave Tsukishima’s lips and the room suddenly feels charged.

  
Yamaguchi looks at Tsukishima. His long legs, clad in light grey trousers, one leg crossed over the other. The white button down, ironed to perfection and the light grey blazer hanging beautifully over Tsukishima’s shoulders.

  
“Are you wearing that?” Yamaguchi asks. “You look great!” he adds hurriedly. “I mean…” He scratches the back of his neck. “You look very good, but you are going into the forest and that isn’t really forest attire.”

While talking Yamaguchi hasn’t lifted his eyes from the ground.

  
Tsukishima feels a plant tendril reach around his wrist, he quickly lifts his hand from the table.

  
“I only brought work clothes,” Tsukishima shrugs, “so this will have to do.”

  
Yamaguchi looks at the beautiful suit and shakes his head.

  
“No.” He reaches out and grabs Tsukishima by the wrist. He pulls Tsukishima towards the back. Yamaguchi’s face is burning and he does his best to only look forward and definitely not at Tsukishima.

  
Tsukishima lets himself be dragged off to where Yamaguchi is going. Yamaguchi drags him up a narrow stairway to where he lives. They stop in what Tsukki presumes to be the living room.

  
“Wait here.” Yamaguchi disappears into a different room and Tsukishima is left to look at the room. The room could be an extension of the store, plants are filling every possible windowsill, shelf, and table. The chaos seems very comforting.

  
Yamaguchi comes back and all but throws a pile of clothing at Tsukishima, with the words, “here you can borrow these clothes.” He points at a different door, “the bathroom’s there.”  
Tsukishima walks to the bathroom with no words, accepting that this is happening.  
He takes off the suit, folding every piece of clothing carefully before putting on the clothes Yamaguchi handed him. Once fully clothed he steps out of the bathroom again.

  
Yamaguchi is spraying water on some of his plants and as he lays eyes on Tsukishima he water sprayer falls to the floor.

  
“Hi,” Yamaguchi says as he looks at his clothes on Tsukishima’s body. The grey  
sweatpants that are just a bit shorter and a little bit tighter than on himself.

  
“Hi?” Tsukishima looks down at himself and tugs at the bottom of the t-shirt.

  
“Oh,” Yamaguchi straightens, “I forgot this.” He hands him a dark green hoodie.

Tsukishima holds the hoodie up in front of himself to read the letters on the front.

  
“You had me at Aloe?” Tsukishima throws Yamaguchi a questioning look.

  
“Ah yeah, Yachi got me that one for my birthday last year.” Yamaguchi picks up the water sprayer.

  
“Oh,” Tsukishima can’t help but let the disappointment show in his voice.

  
“She’s a friend,” Yamaguchi nearly stumbles over his words, “and into girls.”

  
“Ooh,” Tsukishima exhales in relief.

  
“We always buy each other stuff like that,” Yamaguchi smiles, “since we’re both single.” the last sentence is added after a deep breath and Yamaguchi looks at everything but Tsukishima.

  
“Well, I better go look for the plant now.” Tsukishima also averts his eyes from Yamaguchi and begins to walk towards where he believes the exit to be.

  
“It’s this way,” Yamaguchi opens the right door and follows Tsukishima down and out of the shop.

  
“Well, good luck,” Yamaguchi says and sends Tsukishima off with a bright smile.

  
“Thank you,” Tsukishima answers with a smaller smile, but a smile nonetheless.

Tsukishima walks away and Yamaguchi turns to his plants again.

  
“He smiled at me! Did you see that?” Yamaguchi’s excitement rubs off on the plants nearby and some sprout new buds, others bloom.

*

The sun hangs high in the sky when Tsukishima finally reaches the forest. He walks deeper and deeper into the forest. The clearing where he had hoped to find the flower is seemingly gone. He has walked the path he drew up from the description in the book from Kuroo a few times but he has yet to find a clearing.

He starts to walk aimlessly but the only thing that changes is the sun’s position in the sky. Tsukishima starts talking to himself while walking. “Why does he have to be so adorable? There are a million things in this town I could write about. I mean, there’s at least one guy that can turn into a cat anytime he wants. There aren’t many of those, that would have been way easier. But noo, the plant guy had to be freaking cute and I, I the fool, chose to find a plant that probably doesn’t exist.”

  
Tsukishima sighs and heads home before the sun starts to set. The way back feels much longer than his way into the forest and as he finally reaches the inn, the sun has completely vanished from the sky. The moon now shining on the small town. When Tsukishima reaches his room in the inn, he takes Yamaguchi’s clothes off and folds them neatly on his bedside table. Tsukishima looks at the clothing.

  
“Looks like I’ll have to borrow them tomorrow as well,” Tsukishima sighs before sitting at the desk and going through the book again. As he gets up from the table he spots a yellow note on the floor. Tsukishima leans down and picks up the note.

The note reads:

_Yamaguchi asked me to leave this note for you, he says that if you stop by his shop tomorrow before heading to the forest he’ll teach you to pot a plant._  
_-Hinata Natsu_

Tsukishima lies down on the bed, the note once again on the floor and falls asleep, with a small smile on his lips.

The next morning he gets up, once again puts on Yamaguchi’s clothes and heads for the plant shop. Yamaguchi is outside putting the plants out for the day when Tsukishima reaches him.

  
“Good morning, Yamaguchi,” He greets the other. “I got your message about learning to pot a plant?”

  
“Oh yeah, I just figured if you found it, it would be a shame if you had to kill it.” Yamaguchi fiddles with his hand while talking. “So I found this for you.” Yamaguchi hands him a decently large light blue pot. On it, in fine calligraphy, is written ‘Dryadalis Maestitia’.

  
“Yachi and I made it when we were trying to find it.” Yamaguchi looks at Tsukishima.

  
“Cute,” Tsukishima mumbles under his breath and Yamaguchi makes eye contact with him just for a second before averting his eyes once again, a light blush now dusting his cheeks.  
Yamaguchi has a hard time looking Tsukishima in the eyes and chooses to focus on his hands that are now wrapped around the blue pot.

  
“I know it might not be the best thing to carry around but I just I’d hate for you to kill it just so I can see it and you know maybe you can’t find it again so I just thought you could take it home with you so I could see it, I know you’re not doing this for me but I just want to see it once and-”

  
“Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima interrupts Yamaguchi in the middle of his ramble, “of course I’ll bring it back for you.”

  
“Oh,” Yamaguchi says softly, “thank you.”

  
The next 15 minutes is spent with Tsukishima watching Yamaguchi’s hands intently as he shows Tsukishima how to pot a plant.

  
“You got it?” Yamaguchi looks up at Tsukishima “Ready to try again?” Yamaguchi gives him a smile and all Tsukishima can do is nod. Yamaguchi packs a few tools into the pot.

  
“Good luck,” Yamaguchi holds the pot towards Tsukishima with a bright smile and Tsukishima takes the pot with a “thank you” and sets off for the forest once again.

He walks the same path as yesterday for a while, before diverting deeper into the forest.  
Once again the sun has made its way over the sky.

Tsukishima is still wandering the forest looking for a plant, and while the forest is beautiful. The ground is brimming with life, flowers and weeds sprouting left and right but no sight of the most important one. Tsukishima kicks the ground a few times before he starts talking to himself again.

  
“I could have just told him that he was cute?” Tsukishima groans “Or that I was actually finding the plant to impress him?” Tsukishima kicks a rock. And looks up to the sky, now slightly darker and sighs.

  
“Guess that’s it for today,” Tsukishima walks back to the inn, the pot clutched in his arms.  
The next few days pass much like the two previous ones, Tsukishima visiting Yamaguchi before spending his day in the forest and returning to the inn with an empty pot.

  
On the fifth day, Tsukishima wakes up with a strange feeling in his stomach. He puts on Yamaguchi’s clothing, that he had washed in the meantime, and once again headed towards the small plant shop, the flower pot safely in his arms.

All the way there he mumbles to himself, “you can do it just talk to him.”

Tsukishima takes a deep breath before pushing the door open. As usual, Yamaguchi is busy with some plants.

  
“Oh, hi Tsukki, are you headed to the forest again?” Yamaguchi smiles.

  
“Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you about something first.” Tsukishima stands next to Yamaguchi, looking down on the other. They are so close. Tsukishima’s heart is beating so fast it could jump out of his chest at any minute.

  
“Tsukki..” Yamaguchi whispers, mere centimetres away from Tsukishima. Tsukishima puts the pot down on the table.

  
“Yamaguchi… I-” and before Tsukishima can say anything else Yamaguchi raises himself up on his tiptoes, pressing his lips against Tsukishima’s. Tsukishima freezes at first, but his hands soon find themselves around Yamaguchi’s waist and he closes his eyes.

Yamaguchi’s lips are soft and Tsukishima is about to lose himself in the feeling of them against his own, just as Yamaguchi pulls away.

  
“I-” Tsukishima tries to start a sentence but nothing makes it way out of his mouth.  
Yamaguchi is looking at the ground and fiddling with his fingers.

  
“I’m sorry,” Yamaguchi looks at Tsukishima. “I have to go.” Yamaguchi nearly sprints out of the shop, leaving Tsukishima behind; stunned.

  
“Idiot... “ Tsukishima says to himself, “it’s your shop.” He shakes his head and sighs.  
Tsukishima grabs the pot off the table again and walks towards the forest yet again.

  
The path has become very familiar to Tsukishima over the last few days and he can almost see his own footprints on it as he walks it again.The forest seems louder today, the birds are singing more and the flowers are brighter than ever.

  
“He kissed me and ran out of his own store,” Tsukishima says to his audience of trees. “What is that supposed to mean? What do I do?” Tsukishima sighs but continues his trek into the forest. The trees get thicker and the light coloured wildflowers have disappeared and the ground is covered in moss and other dark plants.

The sun’s rays barely reach the ground. Tsukishima walks and searches for the flower but he has no luck. He walks for hours and hours and soon the sun has completely disappeared.

  
“Well fuck,” Tsukishima looks at sky, sun-less and dark, “how am I supposed to find the way back to Tadashi now?” he looks at the pot in his arms. Tsukishima starts walking again. His footsteps are accompanied by the sound of breaking branches and crunching leaves.

Suddenly he finds himself in a clearing he hasn’t seen before. His steps slow down and the sounds of the forest quiet down. Tsukishima steps into the clearing and the moonlight brightens. In the middle of the forest is a cluster of flowers. Light blue, lightly glowing flowers.  
Tsukishima nears the cluster.

  
“Holy shit,” he whispers. He falls to his knees on the outside of the cluster. Tsukishima starts carefully digging up one of the plants. He fills the pot with some dirt from the clearing before placing the flower carefully in his pot.

  
“Yamaguchi is going to flip his shit,” he whispers to himself as he packs the dirt tightly against the plant.

  
Tsukishima walks in a direction that he thinks will lead him home but there seems to be no end to the trees. Tsukishima walks and walks, at some point birds starts singing. The sun starts peeking out and the moon slowly vanishes. Tsukishima keeps walking. Suddenly the trees around him disappear and he is back where he started. Tsukishima stops for a second and looks around.

  
“How?” Tsukishima shakes his head and starts walking towards Yamaguchi’s shop. The walk through the city passes much faster than his trek through the forest. He once again stands in front of the familiar glass door. He can see Yamaguchi inside, whispering to some yellow flowers. Tsukishima steps into the store.

  
“Tuskki!” Yamaguchi perks up and all but runs over to him. “Is that?” He motions to the plant in Tsukishima’s arms. Tsukishima nods.

  
“Oh,” Yamaguchi’s tone falls.

  
“Wait, why do you sound disappointed?” Tsukishima puts the plant down on the table. “I’ve spent almost a week in the forest trying to find this plant for you. I did this for you because you’re cute and I like you. You kissed me and ran out of your own shop. What do I do with that? I found your plant, so you can’t be disappointed.”

  
“I just thought it would glow or- what you like me?” Yamaguchi blushes.

  
“I thought that was clear when I kissed you back?” Tsukishima rubs the back of his neck.  
“I thought maybe you pitied me,” Yamaguchi looks down.

  
“Oh for fuck's sake,” Tsukishima sighs and reaches out. He grabs Yamaguchi by the side of his shirt and pulls Yamaguchi towards him. Their lips connect and warmth spreads from them to the rest of his body. His palms feel slightly sweaty as he grips Yamaguchi tighter.

  
They pull apart.

  
“It does glow,” Tsukishima mumbles.

  
“What?” Yamaguchi looks up at him, brows scrunched.

  
“The plant. It does glow, I just think it has to be night,” Tsukishima answers. Neither of them steps away from the other.

  
“Oh,” Yamaguchi looks deep in thought for a second, “why don’t you stay here tonight and show me then?” Yamaguchi looks up through his eyelashes and Tsukishima can’t help but kiss him once again.

  
“Okay, yeah, sure” Tsukishima responds “I’ll stay.”


End file.
